American Girl Curriculum - Girls of American History Unit 4 1854 Pioneer Times-Kirsten® - Co-op/School License

Making history engaging for students is possibly one of the most difficult tasks for teachers.  How do we overcome that?  Two key things are critical for accomplishing this task.  First, it must be relatable in someway, and secondly, it needs to offer learning opportunities for multiple learning styles.  Girls of American History uses the popular American Girl book series.  This instantly makes history relatable, as the main characters are school age children, families and strong male characters. 

Girls of American History uses multisensory learning, which follows a pattern of Do It, Write It, Say It, Read It, See It.  Multisensory learning is great for every kind of learner - because each learner gets to experience learning the way they are most comfortable - but they also have the opportunity to learn through other senses.  Studies and research have shown that learning material through multiple senses helps children to retain information better.

The experiences practiced in multisensory learning allow each student to participate in ways that help them understand and retain best.  Boys and girls learn together and help each other with projects such as making a braided rug or a log cabin craft, having discussions about the story, historical information, as well as positive character traits such as independence, friendship, etc.  

Schooling multiple ages together, in a co-op setting for example, is very manageable.  And, with the continuity of the same subject matter for literature and history, as well as crafts and field trip experiences, opportunities for discussion are plentiful and help build a love of learning.

Field trips include visiting a symphone or a cave and doing a nature study.  This six week unit study using the American Girl® Kirsten® series books is also great for a large class setting,  or a smaller co-op environment.  Enjoy a Pioneer Party of your own at the end of the unit!

The American Girl Kirsten series is available in a six book reader set.  These books can generally be found in most used book stores or online on ebay or Amazon. 

This series of books follows a young girl's journey from Sweeden to America.  See life through her eyes as she has amazing adventures, tragic losses and learns so much about herself.  Strong male characters include her brother and father.

This unit works well for studying early pioneer times, the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, and so much more. The early 19th century really covers so much more than the early pioneer times - stretch this time period out to include Josefina and the southwestern states. Many inventions took place as well as the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Louisiana Purchase. This unit was a favorite with my boys. Craft and field trip ideas from the time period are included in the unit to help enhance the study. Some examples of crafts include; sewing projects, wood projects, drawings and more.  Deepen your study with the science of bees and honey.

**Crafts are not included in the purchase of the curriculum, but resources and instruction as to what crafts to purchase are included. Some units do include free craft templates.   Co-op/School License allows permission for the purchasing school allow as many teachers to teach this curriculum to as many groups and classes as they like.  There is no expiration.  The school may not make copies for parents, or other schools/co-ops.  The file remains the property of the purchasing school only.